Abstract

Teams that can manage their internal functioning may be able to continue to work effectively so that they innovate. This study suggests that cooperative but not competitive or independent goals are a foundation for effective team reflexivity. Two hundred employees in 100 work teams in China completed measures of their team’s goal interdependence (cooperative, competitive, and independent) and reflexivity. The managers of these 100 teams rated their team’s innovation. Results support the theorizing that cooperative goals can contribute to team reflexivity. Structural equation analysis suggested that cooperative but not competitive or independent goals promote reflexivity that in turn results in team innovation. These results, coupled with previous research, were interpreted as suggesting that cooperative goals and reflexivity are complementary foundations for team innovation.